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January 24, 2011

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to meet an enlightened individual, that I have since referred to as the "San Diego Buddha." I met this aged gentleman on the beach. He approached as I was playing my ukulele and started rhythmically dancing to my shoddy music. When asked his name, he told me that I could call him whatever I wished. When asked where he was from, he pointed down to the sand and said that he was from "here and now." Any "normal" person would have found this man strange, but I was intrigued.

When I met the San Diego Buddha, I was alone, enjoying a lovely day of sunshine, music, and rolling waves. After his greeting, I asked him to sit, and we spoke about life, politics, current events, and spirituality for over 2 hours. I have not seen him since despite his assurances that we would meet again. I must note that I am not a religious man. I consider myself agnostic, as I believe in a moral code and do consider myself spiritual in nature.

It would be a futile insult to attempt to recall and summarize the discussions that I had with the San Diego Buddha, as it was awhile back. Instead, I will here reprint the handout of notions that he passed along to me, which I came across today when thinking about a topic to write on. The one page of type was not something that he normally handed out, rather he took the folded single-sided sheet of paper out of his pocket and gave it to me to keep. He told me that these were just some of the ideas he thought were worth rereading and sharing:

-There are three types of freedom; the first is the physical freedom, which is to be able to move from place to place; the second is the political freedom, which is freedom from dictatorship, tyranny, abusive and oppressive governments; the third type of freedom is the mental spiritual freedom, which is freedom from the restrictions that keep us or prevent us from following our mind to wherever it is able to take us.

-Did birth happen to us or did we choose to be born? It is good to be born, but we did not choose time and place of our birth. We did not decide or choose gender, looks, the circumstances we were born in, etc. So, we did not choose to be born, but birth (life) happened to us. It is a mystery, not a choice, and after we realize it is a mystery, the next logical and natural step is to explore this mystery. Our choices we made when we were children, when we started asking why things are the way they are, why people die, who and where is God, etc., that was our choice and that was, and still is, our freewill expressing itself. Everything else is an illusion, more or less.

-Stop past tense usage. Stop time. We reinforce time in our consciousness when we speak with past tense, but when we stop using past tense verbs, the time consciousness we experience now would fade away, and then we would realize that we are eternal beings, because our death exists in the future. But when there is no time, there is not future, and therefore there is no death. Time exists only when we speak of it, death exists in time, therefore when we stop time, we stop death. I think therefore I am. I am free and happy, infinitely happy.

-I think therefore I am. Thinking stimulates and activates the brain, and with that infinitely elevated brain power, we start solving our problems easily and quickly, and grow happier, healthier, and more empowered, infinitely.

-Science, technology, civilization, and modernity are by-products of human kinds' search for the truth of who we are and what life is all about. In other words, they are products of our search for meaning.

-Asian, black, Latino, caucasion living together is a huge leap in the mental and spiritual evolution and development of human kind in their march toward the divine, where there is total, eternal, and infinite love, harmony, happiness and infinite possibilities and life eternal in paradise.

-The now moment is changing constantly, going by one after another, but there is a moment that is with us constantly, with us wherever we are or wherever we go. Let's call it the "now moment." That now moment is the dimension of the divine.

-To stay in that moment, we need to focus on it and in it. No attention should be paid to moments gone by or still to come because that is an illusion. There is no such thing as gone by moments. They are in our mine, memories of unexplained pain and suffering stored in the subconscious.

-Ultimately, when we keep our focus in the now moment, we leave the now moment and transcend reality of limitations and get absorbed by the divine dimension - the source of everything we desire: divine joy, happiness, and infinity of every pleasure imagined.

-Scheduling is the enemy of the now moment.

-There is no intellectual property in spirit. The truth (divine knowledge) is not the ultimate property. Happiness, love, and joy is the ultimate property. Share thoughts not as something you own, but as something you are given.

-Speed (such as in a car) gives the illusion of escaping the self.

-There are those who respect what they fear or out of fear, and there are those who respect out of morality, truth, and love. The first group will do evil when they think they can get away with it. The solution is to raise spiritual awareness by provoking thought.

-The truth does not make us believe. The truth makes us think. Belief is the result, or outcome, of thinking.

-What we call dualism is a manifestation of the ultimate conflict between the good spiritual force (what has been named, God), and negative spiritual forces (what we have named, Satan). They are both embedded in and out of the system.

-I think therefore I know what I am, or I think therefore I know what on earth I am.

-Words have beginnings and ends, but the reality that words try to describe is open ended and infinite. Words are unimportant. Meaning is important.

-Freedom of speech does not entitle speaking profanity. Respect comes first and then freedom. We can not say or do evil in the name of freedom.

-The biggest mistake of our modern civilization is to stop believing in the existence of evil forces among us.

-Do not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the material (the physical), as thoughts rule.

-We are what we are after. We are after the infinite joy and happiness and everything that is good.

Life without consciousness seeking the truth (divine knowledge) is an illusion. Without the truth as a spiritual guide, we make mistakes and go in wrong directions, and evil then takes over.

Maybe subconsciously, I realized that despite the fact that organized religion has bastardized and blasphemed spirituality, that we need not reproach spirituality, rather we should realize and embrace the fact that we are a species which has the unique ability to choose good over evil, embrace happiness, and strive for truth over ignorance. We have that ability, and call it what you will, but it is easier to do bad and follow, than to choose truth and good and lead. I choose to be happy and embrace the now moment. I choose to do good and search for truth. I choose to gain and share knowledge. I hope each of you do the same. Love and light to you all.